Americans going deeper in debt

Sacramento Bee ^ | 3/10/03 | Loretta Kalb

[Sloth]

"What I do is have them pay minimum on every card except for the one with the lowest balance," she said. That allows them to achieve zero balances, one card at a time.

I am curious about what you all think of an idea I have to manage some credit card debt... Suppose I owe a total of $10,000 to 5 different credit cards with various interest rates. I take out a personal loan from my credit union sufficient to pay off all the cards, then cancel all but one, and keep a zero balance on it while paying a fixed, low-interest payment on my loan... it would be paid off in roughly half the time it'd take me to pay off a new car.

Does that sound better than the above suggestion from the article?

[only1percent]

Quote: "MOST CARD HOLDERS PAY 26%"

I don't believe that's true. The standard non-promotional Visa/MC rate for people with good credit ranges from 12% to 19%. Store cards are higher, as are cards for those with impaired caredit, but the weighted average rate for all unsecured debt is well under 20%.

Default rates are higher, but those card holders aren't actually "paying"...

[Ahban]

I am having a hard time believing the stats. I just can't accept that HALF of the cardholders are just paying the minimum. I just can't accept that 44% are in such huge trouble that they are still increaing debt even though debt is already at record levels.

This can't go on.

[SamAdams76]

When we paid off our last credit card some time ago, they got very irritated with us. They started sending us blank checks, almost pleading with us to transfer a balance from somewhere else or to go out and buy something big. The credit card industry has a name for somebody who pays the bill off each month: Deadbeat.

When I was in my 20s, I used credit cards all the time. I never got into any trouble with them, as I was always able to keep up with payments. But I never had any money left over to save either because all my extra money was going towards credit card payments. Getting out of the credit card trap was one of the top five things I ever did in my life. Within no time at all, I had a very significant amount of money saved up. By that time, I had cash available to meet any expense that came up and never had to use a credit card for anything again.

[hoosierskypilot]

then cancel all but one

That's a good plan, but an article I read some time ago said that, when the average person gets the credit card balance to zero, he/she starts using the cards again, thinking they will manage their spending. Then, since they still have the habit of compulsive shopping, get in trouble again.

[Sloth]

True, there's a risk... It seems like you really *need* a credit card anymore to make rental car or plane reservations, buy online, etc... but now that I think about it, I suppose you can get Visa or Mastercard check cards (i.e. checking account debit) that will serve that purpose.

[dufekin]

Hey, I'm one of those people making no payments to credit-card companies right now. You see, I don't have any credit cards, therefore, I do not accrue credit-card debt. I do not pay credit-card companies because they do not bill me. I do worry, however, about identity theft, which apparently is rampant ("involuntary debt"). How can I determine whether I have any such "involuntary debt?" As I understand it, I am legally, criminally, and civilly responsible for anything that happens to my identity.

Of course, this survey probably was of Californians, so what else would one expect of those dummies?

[Southack]

"By golly we gotta keep up with the Jones' don't we?"

You may have no idea how true that is today.

One of my former employees just bought a house (his wife has a decent job). I offered to help him move. He turned me down. He's hired a moving company.

And this guy has no job!

Then he started asking me if he could hire my maid, and wanted to know how much I paid her.

Looking at his yard, he explained to me that he was going to have to find a decent yard service.

I'm thinking to myself, "What the heck is he doing with his time, much less his wife's money?!"

Then I overheard his wife tell my wife that money was really tight for them.

No kidding.

Sheesh...

It all goes back to The Millionaire Next Door in that there are just two types of people: those who spend money to LOOK as if they are rich/well off, and those who actually are well off.

[SamAdams76]

If it's OK for the Fed, why isn't it OK for Ma and Pa?

Because if Ma and Pa don't pay, they lose the house. But the government can always raise taxes and keep on spending more and more.

[SamAdams76]

It depends upon the interest rate of your credit union. If the interest rate is lower than any of your cards, then go with the credit card loan and cancel ALL your cards. If you have a card that is lower that even your credit union, then transfer all your balances to that card and pay it off as fast as you can. Make sure you pay ontime otherwise they will jack up the rate on you.

I say have no credit cards at all. My bank ATM card has a VISA logo on it and it works just like a credit card, except the money is debited from my checking account whenever I use it. I also have overdraft protection so I never have to worry about bounced checks, but in the rare case that I overdraw, I immediately pay the balance off to avoid interest charges.

[Rebelbase]

I know of a couple who have accumulated $65,000 in credit card debt after four and half years of marriage. They know they are in trouble but show no signs of slowing down.

[Jorge]

We need a tax increase to help these poor people!

Yes, we all know it was Bush's tax cut that caused this disaster. The Dems warned us.
A hefty tax hike immediately, is our only chance.

[NautiNurse]

they realize that by making only minimum payments

My simple reply: Either pay more than the minimum payment, or return the merchandise that you couldn't afford in the first place. Nothing in this scenario is involuntary. Is is a matter of self discipline.

[Southack]

"I know of a couple who have accumulated $65,000 in credit card debt after four and half years of marriage. They know they are in trouble but show no signs of slowing down."

A divorce attorney once told me (in a social setting) that her median client would have as much in credit card debt as her average annual salary, with her soon-to-be-ex-husband in the precise same position.

Thus, on average, she would expect that a couple earning $150k per year would have $150k in credit card, auto, and school loan debt.

She then claimed that because of that statistic, that debt was making her more money as a divorce attorney (OK, "family law" officially) than it did the bankers.

Regardless, debt is a marriage killer.

[Rebelbase]

This couple are headed in that direction, its just a matter of time.

[Southack]

It can't be helped. Most every couple in that position claims that it can't happen to them and that they are in control of their (substitute appropriate addiction: debt, alcohol, sex lives, drugs, travel, parties, etc.).

[Rebelbase]

That river in Egypt is mighty big!

[LibKill]

Not this American. I'm using the credit card for gasoline and not much else anymore.

[m18436572]

Shit yea! Damn that's the best line on this thread. Everyone knows we got more than we really need to sustain ourselves! Jack that shit to the moon. Otherwise it's doom on all of us!